A spine board, or backboard, is a medical device used for the immobilization and transportation of patients with suspected spinal injuries. FIGS. 1A and 1B are side and top views, respectively, illustrating the use of a typical spine board 100 to transport a patient. As illustrated, the patient lies on the spine board, which is usually carried by at least two lifters (one on either side of the patient).
Typical spine boards such as the one illustrated tend to be very narrow (e.g., approximately sixteen inches wide). This requires the lifters to flex their trunks and their arms away from their centers of gravity (as illustrated), which increases the biomechanical forces acting on their spines and shoulders.
These forces may be exacerbated when the patient is to be lifted from a low resting surface such as the floor, a bed, or a table (such as table 102 in FIGS. 1A and 1B), or when the patient is especially large. The greater the biomechanical forces acting on the spines and shoulders of the lifters, the greater the risk that the lifters will injure themselves.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for biomechanically advantageous patient transfer device.